Phantasmagoria

Natsume Yuujinchou

Chapter 6

Each Other's Past お互いの過去 Otagai no Kako

"U-Uh, Natsume? The thing that you wanted to talk about… Is it important?" Homura asked. They were walking home from school; Nishimura and Kitamoto had to stay back since they were on cleaning duty. To him Natsume seemed as if he was thinking about the unknown matter all day long, one minute looking as if he was going to open his mouth and blurt out whatever he was meaning to say, and in the other looking as if he decided against it.

"A-Ahh… Why, are you busy?"

"Mhmm… I kind of have somewhere to go."

"It's okay," Natsume said offhandedly. "It's nothing important anyway. It can wait till next time."

"Sorry okay?"

Natsume smiled. "I said it's okay! There's nothing to worry about! Except…" He eyed Homura's bandaged arm and at its owner, who had a careless and inattentive—and also innocent—air about him.

Homura laughed sheepishly.

Natsume placed a hand on the reddish-haired boy. "See you tomorrow then. Take care of that arm."

Homura watched Natsume walk away for a few seconds, then jokingly said: "I will, mommy."

"Homura…" He heard Natsume say warningly without turning his head to look in his direction, walking steadily away.

Homura chuckled, and then went to where he met the tengu the day before. He had to thank him for saving his life, after all.

"Tengu?" he called. "Tengu~ Oi, Tengu~!"

The tengu was perched on a branch, lazing in the sun and listlessly staring at the expanse of greenery and the city around him like always, waiting for another boring day to end. And then he heard himself being called by the human boy he had saved yesterday. He yawned and looked downwards. The child was directly under his tree now, calling 'tengu, tengu'. He smirked. He would let that human child make a fool out of himself for a little while longer.

"Tengu~?" Homura sighed. What am I thinking? Maybe he was just passing by yesterday. "Ten—"

"Do you think I am earless, oh human?"

Homura turned around, meaning to catch the tengu coming out from his hiding place. But the tengu was already behind him and was folding his wings. "What did you come for?" he asked.

"To thank you," the human said matter-of-factly.

That was unexpected. The tengu thought he had come about the salve. "Thank?" he asked incredulously.

"For saving me. And for the salve, though I hated it."

Hate? the tengu thought with amusement clearly written all over his handsome face. "Let me see your arm." Without an early warning he grabbed it and pulled away the bandage.

Homura's jaw dropped when he set his eyes on his arm. At first it was alarm, and fear for the tengu might agitate his already stinging wounds, and then it quickly melted into disbelief. His arm was almost healed. He also realized that it didn't hurt anymore, now that he thought of it.

"So?" The tengu casually threw the strip of bandage over his shoulder. "Still hate it?"

"I honestly think I'm beginning to feel the opposite."

"Well? You've thanked me and your arm is already healed. Why don't you go back to your home already?" In thought the tengu was anticipating the answer: would he go home as suggested, or would he stand his ground, against a high-level youkai like him? That would be marvelous. And not to mention interesting.

"I will."

Disappointment flickered in his eyes, just for a millisecond.

"Just one more question."

New 'hope' filled his eyes. "Say it."

"What's your name?" Homura asked curiously.

Laced with absurdity and 'utter' disbelief, the tengu scoffed. "I have no obligation to leave my name in the hands of a particular human child."

"Then how about a fake name?"

"Tell me, boy. Why are you so interested?"

He looked vague. It was crystal clear he hadn't thought of that. "I don't know. It's just that I feel like you don't hurt other people."

"Other people or other ayakashi?"

"Both… maybe?"

"Hah. I guess that's true," the tengu said, nodding. "And what? Just because I seem nice you're interested in… befriending me?"

"But you look like you have too much free time in your hands. Get a life, man. What's the point of having a long lifespan when all you do is sit around and do nothing all day?" he said bluntly.

If this is another human-eating ayakashi he's talking to… He'd be dead. Literally. Without a doubt. Yep.

"So?" the human said, pulling the gray-haired out from his little train of thought. "How about a fake name? What do other youkai call you?"

"Hm, I have no name to begin with. So which is fake and which is real doesn't matter. But if it soothes your heart any better, I will respond to 'Tengu', for the moment."

The next day…

"Tengu~?" Homura called. This time the tengu responded directly.

"What did you come for this time, child?" he said, leaping down from a branch he was sitting on earlier.

"Nee, I'm sure you haven't eaten yet, right?" Homura held out a big lunchbox. "I brought an extra lunchbox from home."

The tengu cocked his head to the side, smirking. "If it's not to my liking I'll eat you instead, human," he said coyly.

"You won't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You said you're not in the least interested in eating me."

"Hmph." The tengu turned away and started walking. "Come."

Homura followed him until they arrived at a lake, where they sat down on the grass and started eating.

"So? Is it to your liking?" Homura sked. "I'm pretty good at cooking, you know."

The tengu said nothing, but he was quickly finishing off his share.

"How does it feel like, seeing what other people can't?" the tengu asked after some time.

Homura hugged his knees closer to his chest, watching the water glitter in the late afternoon sunlight. "… Isolated."

"Then we're the same."

Homura's eyes travelled to the tengu's blue ones. "Why would you feel isolated?"

The tengu ignored the human's curious and prying gaze. For some reason he felt like he would be safe with the human—he could tell him anything he liked, pour out his deep-buried feelings. He never interacted much before; perhaps that was why he felt close to him.

"Would you like me to tell you my story? Someone might as well know."

Homura kept his ears alert.

"I am an exile, forever banished from the mountains, where my clan resides. The reason is unknown."

"Why, your sarcasm was too much for your clan members?"

"Do you wish to get eaten?"

"No."

"Then shut up and listen." The tengu paused for a while. "Eighty years earlier I was born to this world. My mother died soon after due to her weak body. My father was killed. My parents are dead before they had the chance to name me; my clan simply referred to me as 'child'. Ten short years later I was exiled. I was still young so I don't really remember much. I've been living alone in Yatsuhara since then. That's about all."

"You're eighty years old?"

"Is that the only thing you can respond to, you despicable human?"

Homura smiled, stretching. "Next is my story then, Tengu."

"Go on."

"I'm sixteen years old."

"You're young. Sixteen years to us pass in the blink of an eye."

"You think? Multiply that by four and I would probably be dead already by then. So, after my parents got a job offer they went overseas, and I was passed from relative to relative."

"They abandoned you for money? That is why I hate humans."

"Well, that might be the case, but I don't think of it that way. Many families thought I was strange, since I came home with injuries, both by youkai and other kids that bully me. I was branded a liar every time too, when I try to defend myself.

"At the last family I went to, I met somebody. He was the only person who was sincerely kind to me. He heard the rumors, no doubt, but still he befriended me. When we were together I didn't feel like we had a wall between us. I really like him. We were always together—at school, after school, eating, singing…"

"Where is he now?"

"I was leading up to that. The answer to that question in easy—he's nowhere. He died."

"How?"

Homura sighed. "It was a youkai. It was meaning to kill me, but he protected me instead. After that, I was told he died. At that time I thought that it was all my fault. If he never met me he would still be in this world, laughing like usual. Those things other people said were all true—I bring misfortune to everybody. I'm cursed. I'm better off dead. So… I killed myself," he said the last part casually, as if it was perfectly normal.

"Are you an idiot? You're perfectly alive and well, aren't you?" the tengu said.

"You're so noisy. I lived, isn't it obvious? After that I didn't want to live with anyone anymore. So I moved here."

"You're such an idiot. Why should you die, just because you're a little bit special? Suicide is just cowardice."

"Tengu…" For a moment Homura thought he was scolding him like how Seiji used to scold him for being too held-back.

"If you really really want to die, you should just go to a powerful ayakashi and let it gobble you up! Don't waste your tasty-smelling blood!"

It appears he wasn't.

I've heard many rumors that Zan Natsume Yuujinchou / the 3rd season of Natsume is going to come out this year! Whooo! I can't wait! Though it will probably be in summer or autumn, or even at the end of the year. And [spoiler] there's gonna be a lot of Tanuma! [squeals] XD